Awakening #5

Patricia gasped, keeping one hand over her skirt and the other to protect her eyes from the incoming wind. "Was I hallucinating!? That was a magic circle! No, there were two magic circles! double-casting?! I can't see because of the fog."

When she thought that, the dust had settled, revealing only one of the two fighters left standing, and that fighter was Arthur.

 She turned her head to find Liam stone, on the ground, with the majority of his chest defenses in shambles. Looking closer, his chest and abdomen were bruised, as per the visible welting and the purple hues. 

"Arthur is a mage! I need to tell Ellis Quickly!" Patricia realized, before turning to her senior. "I remembered something I had to do, I must take my leave." She apologized.

The school president smirked, amused and somewhat impressed. "It seems as though a diamond has indeed revealed itself from a box of coal." She said taking a puff off her long smoking pipe. 

She turned to her sentry. "Kindly procure the boy, give him medical treatment and set in in one of the private infirmaries."

"Yes madame President!" He replied, saluting with his gloved hand. The sentry then exited the office. 

She turned again to the Orb she connected to one of her familiars. "I forgot to tell him, every specialist on record, so far, we're all mages." She chuckled. "He would be disappointed to hear that."

Arthur smirks at his handiwork before closing his eyes and clenching his fists. "I think I can comfortably say that I've doubled in strength-- no, that wouldn't be enough. I'm about four times stronger than a month ago."

"Put your hands up!"

Arthur flinched and opened his eyes to see himself surrounded by guards, all heavily armored and armed with long pointy weapons. "Whoa~ Shit, what's this all for?"

"I said, put your hands up!"

"Message received." Arthur groaned, putting his hands up in the air. The guards then approached him, still pointing their weapons. There were six guards, in full plate armor, and two magicians behind them.

"Put these on!" 

Arthur watched the foremost guard, probably the one in charge, toss a pair of handcuffs, which bore uncanny similarities with the ones on earth by the police. 

"Really?" Arthur sighed, putting them on. When the pair of cuff clinked shut, the guards rushed him and grabbed both his arms, and carry him with difficulty.

"He's pretty hefty." they thought.

"Are you going to be alright?" Mark asked, jogging after the small entourage. 

Arthur turned around to face his senior with a smile. "I'll be fine! I won our little game! don't forget that!!"

Mark stopped running after them with a smile on his face. "Cheeky brat," he said, watching the guards carry him off.

Ellis coughed, choking hard on her tea. "I beg your pardon? Are you sure?" She questioned, putting down the teacup and closing her book.

Patricia nodded, wiping her sweat with a handkerchief. "I am, Ellis. His magic-- it was powerful, to say the least. He must be a mage, after all, his magic destroyed a second-year."

Ellis stood up from her seat. "A second-year you say!? What was his name?''

Patricia thought for a moment, before opening her mouth. "I believe, it was Liam stone. Yes, that's right. His name was Liam Stone."

Ellis nodded, before taking her seat. "Thank you for coming all this way to tell me, Patricia."

Patricia smiled. "Then, I shall take my leave." She bowed respectfully, before turning around and leaving through the open door, closing it after her.

"Oh, dear..." Ellis sighed, now worried. "I knew it... Theodore, what are you planning? You just sent one of your vassal families after Arthur. " She thought, slouching in her seat. "Is Shawne also part of this?"

The sound of books falling on the ground echoed in another private lounge. the tidy room's floor was littered with papers scattered, torn, and crumpled.

"Arthur, Arthur, Arthur, Arthur-- Arthur this, Arthur that-- Arghhh!!" Theodore yelled. "How dare he, How dare he, How dare he! You have the gall to steal my Top one spot! Throwing my goal of being a 7-year valedictorian in the trash-- you even awakened!?"

The boy was seething with anger, his magic power swirling around him. "my pride won't allow it! I will crush you! I will prove that you've exceeded my through shady methods!"

"Kekekek-- Beware, Arthur Haile, I will thoroughly crush you."

Ellis shivered, chewed on her nail, and aimlessly looked out the window. "Arthur, you're in a heap of trouble."

"How the hell did I even get here?" Arthur questioned, ratting his handcuffs. Turning his head, Arthur gave the room he was in a rough estimate of its size. "A seven by nine interrogation room." 

Arthur looked forward and gazed at his reflection in the one-way mirror. "You're keeping me like a criminal for hours." he chuckled. "If I may ask, what am I being detained for?"

The door opened, and an incredibly obese man entered with his two guards in tow. "Shut it, filth."

Arthur smirked at the man, shrugging and then leaning on the metal chair, resting his head on the backrest. "Would you look at this NPC, walking as if he owned the place?"  Arthur huffed, rolling his eyes. 

"Either you have a lazy eye, or am I seeing a lack of respect?" the man growled. 

"The latter, fat arse." Arthur shot back. "Now that I think about it, doesn't this pig look familiar? I'm confused as to who he is... but I believe he's relevant behind the scenes."

The man in question stepped forward and slammed both his hands on the metal desk, causing a loud sound to reverberate inside the small room. "Who are you?!" He yelled, demanding an answer. "You better watch your words, or else I make sure you won't ever speak again."

Arthur winced slightly at his loud voice. "Who's asking?"

The man inhaled a sharp breath of air and grabbed Arthur by the collar. "Insolent--"

The man raised his hands to strike, only for it to be stopped by an intangible force. "What-- who dares-- urk!" the man gasped. 

"I believe, this is a step too far across the line-- Professor Pugman." A feminine voice quipped, clicking her tongue.

The man, or professor Pugman, turned around in a nervous panic. "M-Madame HeadMaster! W-What brings you here?"

The president's hands were crossed over her chest, and in one of her hands was her smoking pipe. She tilted her hat and glared at the cowering professor.

 "To put a stop to this injustice, and to welcome you, Professor." The president explained. "You do know professors of high grades are not permitted to easily exert their authority past the grade level they were put in charge of, no?"

"T-That--"

"And~ you're a long way from the second-year's classrooms, no? Carry on Professor~"

Professor Pugman bit his lips and bowed his head. "R-Right away, Madame President," he said, visibly shaking. Although it seems as though he shivered in fear, he was in fact holding in his anger. "Damn you, woman! I swear to pay back this humiliation."

The president turned to Arthur, who looked at her unamused. "What took you so long?" he asked, disappointed. Arthur proceeded to snap the thin metal chains with ease. "Actually, I shouldn't be that disappointed since she kept her word. Preferential treatment isn't so bad."

"Aigoo~" She sighed. "You should be more thankful than that. Professor Pugman-- he's...a tad eccentric and..."

"Heavily biased? Yeah, I am quite aware." Arthur rolled his eyes. "So it was him, huh? Ms. Victoria's sugar daddy. The guy who's getting milked literally and financially by that bitch. He's also one of the contestants running against the president for the School Headmaster position."

"That's right." She sighed, thinking about something else. "What happened a few hours ago has already spread throughout the academy-- even the school board is taking action."

Arthur couldn't help but shiver at the thought. The school board is the second, most-influential group on the academy grounds-- they report directly to the empress and are personally in charge of the Kingdom's Secret Service.

"Shit, what did they say?" Arthur nervously asked, leaning on the metal table. The president opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, shook her head, and sighed deeper. 

"That would be best answered with a cigarette and a drink-- care to join me?"

"This... does not sound good."